The present invention relates to a mitre box for use in conjunction with a saw during a cutting operation wherein a cutting edge of the saw is engaged with a workpiece and moved through a series of cutting strokes to cut into and through the workpiece.
When using a mitre box and saw for cutting through a workpiece, it is the usual practice to mark the workpiece with a marking tool, such as a pen or pencil, at the point where the cut is to be made. In situations where a high number of cuts are to be made, it is often necessary to repeatedly mark and cut workpieces, which results in the marking tool being set aside after making each mark. This creates the potential for the marking tool to be misplaced or dropped.
To make repeated marking and cutting operations easier and more efficient, one aspect of the present invention provides a mitre box for use in conjunction with a saw during a cutting operation wherein a marking tool is used to form a marking on a workpiece and a cutting edge of the saw is engaged with the workpiece along the marking and moved through a series of cutting strokes to cut into the workpiece. The mitre box comprises a base having a workpiece supporting surface that supports the workpiece during the aforesaid cutting operation and an abutment structure that provides a workpiece edge abutting surface against which an edge of the workpiece abutted against when placed on the workpiece supporting surface of the base. The box also comprises saw guiding structure having saw guiding surfaces. The saw guiding structure is constructed and arranged such that, when the workpiece is placed on the workpiece supporting surface with the edge thereof abutted against the workpiece abutting surface, the aforesaid workpiece cutting operation can be performed by disposing the saw between the saw guiding surfaces, engaging a cutting edge of the saw with the workpiece, and then moving the saw through a series of cutting strokes with said saw guiding surfaces guiding the saw at an angle with respect to the abutted edge of the workpiece that is determined by an orientation of said saw guiding surfaces. The box also comprises a well defining structure defining an elongated open well that extends into the well defining structure to an extent sufficient to enable the marking tool used to form markings during the aforesaid cutting operation to be temporarily stored within the open well and removed therefrom for marking the workpiece.
Additionally, in conventional mitre boxes, the cutting slots provided only allow the cuts to be made at 90xc2x0 and 45xc2x0 with respect to the workpiece edge. Although these two angles are the ones most commonly used in carpentry, it is often necessary to make cuts at other angles. In particular, it is sometimes desired to cut the workpiece at 22xc2xdxc2x0 with respect to the transverse direction of the workpiece (i.e. 67xc2xdxc2x0 with respect to the edge of the workpiece). This particular angle is often used in detail work for aesthetic purposes. However, no known mitre boxes provide the slots necessary to make such a cut.
Accordingly, another aspect of the present invention provides a mitre box for use during a cutting operation wherein a saw is moved through a series of cutting strokes to cut into the workpiece. The mitre box comprises a base having a workpiece supporting surface, a first slot defining structure having first, second, and third saw receiving slots extending through the first slot defining structure, and a second slot defining structure having first, second, and third saw receiving slots extending through the thickness of the second slot defining structure and being substantially aligned with the first, second, and third saw receiving slots of the first slot defining structure, respectively. Each of slots of the slot defining structures have a width suitable for receiving the saw and guiding the saw as it is moved through the series of cutting strokes during the aforesaid cutting operation.
An abutment structure provides a workpiece edge abutting surface. The abutment structure is constructed and arranged with respect to the first and second slot defining structures such that the workpiece can be placed on the workpiece supporting surface between the first and second slot defining structures and an edge of the workpiece can be abutted against the workpiece abutting surface with the substantially aligned first saw receiving slots of the first and second slot defining structures extending at about 90xc2x0 with respect to the abutted edge of the workpiece, the substantially aligned second saw receiving slots of the first and second slot defining structures extending at about 45xc2x0 with respect to the abutted edge of the workpiece, and the substantially aligned third saw receiving slots of the first and second slot defining structures extending at about 67xc2xdxc2x0 with respect to the abutted edge of the workpiece. The abutment structure and the first and second slot defining structures enable the aforesaid cutting operation to be performed when the workpiece is placed on the workpiece supporting surface with the edge of the workpiece abutting the workpiece edge abutting surface by (a) inserting the saw into a selected pair of the substantially aligned saw receiving slots so that a cutting portion of the saw is engaged with the workpiece and extending at a selected angle with respect to the edge of the workpiece that is determined by the selected pair of the substantially aligned slots, and (b) then moving the saw through a series of cutting strokes with the selected pair of substantially aligned slots guiding through its cutting strokes so that cutting edge of the saw cuts into the workpiece at the aforesaid selected angle.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to the manner in which the cutting saw is stored. Typical mitre boxes have two upright walls. Normally, the saw is stored simply by laying it flat between the two walls. While the walls serve to cover the saw teeth and protect persons from cutting themselves while the box is stationary, this arrangement is not particularly suitable for transporting the box and saw together. Specifically, the person carrying the box must be sure to hold the saw in place during transport. Thus, there exists a need for a mitre box that allows for easy and safe transport of the box and saw together.
To meet this need, yet another aspect of the invention provides a molded plastic mitre box for use in conjunction with a saw during a cutting operation. The mitre box comprises a molded plastic base having a workpiece supporting surface. The molded plastic base includes integrally molded structure that defines a generally upwardly facing saw supporting surface and a storage space extending below the workpiece supporting surface of the base. The storage space and the saw supporting surface are configured to enable the saw to be temporarily stored in the space supported by the saw supporting surface between cutting operations so as to allow the mitre box and saw to be transported together between work locations with the saw in the storage space. A first slot defining structure has a saw receiving slot extending through a thickness thereof the first slot defining structure and a second slot defining structure has a saw receiving slot extending through a thickness thereof. The slots have a width suitable for receiving the saw and guiding the saw as it is moved through its series of cutting strokes. An abutment structure provides a workpiece edge abutting surface and is constructed and arranged with respect to the first and second slot defining structures such that the workpiece can be placed on the workpiece supporting surface between the first and second slot defining structures and an edge of the workpiece can be abutted against the workpiece abutting surface with the substantially aligned saw receiving slots of the first and second slot defining structures extending at an angle with respect to the abutted edge of the workpiece. The abutment structure and the first and second slot defining structures also enable the aforesaid cutting operation to be performed when the workpiece is placed on the workpiece supporting surface with the edge of the workpiece abutting the workpiece edge abutting surface by (a) removing the saw from the storing space, (b) then inserting the saw into the substantially aligned saw receiving slots so that a cutting portion of the saw is engaged with the workpiece in alignment with the marking thereon and extends at the angle determined by the substantially aligned slots with respect to the edge of the workpiece, and (c) then moving the saw through a series of cutting strokes with the selected pair of substantially aligned slots guiding through its cutting strokes so that cutting edge of the saw cuts into the workpiece at the aforesaid selected angle.
A related aspect of the invention provides a mitre box comprising a base having a workpiece supporting surface, a first slot defining structure having a saw receiving slot extending through a thickness thereof, and a second slot defining structure having a saw receiving slot extending through a thickness thereof. The base provides a storage space extending below the workpiece supporting surface of the base for temporarily storing the saw between cutting operations with the handle of the saw exposed, the storage space having an opening that allows for insertion and removal of the saw into and from the storage space. A releasable saw retaining structure associated with the opening of the saw storage space is constructed and arranged such that, when the saw is temporarily stored in the storage space, the saw retaining structure engages the saw so as to releasably retain the saw in the storage space in such a manner to allow the saw and box to be carried together by manually grasping the saw handle. The saw retaining structure is also constructed and arranged such that, when the saw is temporarily stored in the storage space and it is desired to remove the saw therefrom, the saw retaining structure can be moved to a releasing position wherein the saw retaining structure is disengaged from the saw so as to permit removal of the saw from the storage space through the opening. This aspect of the invention may be practiced with any type of mitre box and is not limited to the molded one illustrated.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.